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Sunday, March 18, 2018

We recently spent a lovely weekend in a holiday house down at Safety Beach with the Moody Noodles and some other vegan mates. We went to the beach, explored the markets, watched glorious sunsets and ate; boy, did we eat. The main agenda in terms of eating out was Wombat - an all-vegan cafe and store that's been open in Dromana for the past year or so.

We stopped in for lunch on the first day of the weekend and found a beautiful space, filled with light and with a relaxed atmosphere. The staff cheerfully and patiently dealt with our slightly chaotic group.

I went straight for the Wombat big breakfast - scrambled tofu, avocado, hash browns, stuffed mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes on a couple of slices of sourdough ($26). It's an expensive breakfast, but you really get your money's worth - this is enough food for two people (full disclosure: I ate it all). The eggplant bacon didn't really work for me - drying out thin slices of eggplant and giving them a good smokey flavour sounds like it should work, but they were a bit stringy for my tastes. Everything else was phenomenal though, the scrambled tofu in particular really hit the heights. This is definitely worth ordering if you're hungry.

Cindy showed a bit more restraint and ordered the nachos ($16): beans, rice, lemony avo, salsa and a creamy mock cheese on a big plate of corn chips. This didn't resemble a typical plate of nachos - it wasn't nearly messy enough for starters and was bulked up mostly with a big rice salad in the middle. The vegan cheese sauce and avo toppings were a hit and Cindy was pretty happy with her lunch (aside from all the raw onion she picked out).

Everybody had such a good time at lunch on Friday that we headed back for brunch on Sunday before the drive back to Melbourne - the smiley drink on the left is a delicious iced coffee ($6.50). My regular flat-white ($4.50) came with a unique Wombat-blend milk, that tasted mostly like coconut milk to me.

I wanted another hit of the scrambled tofu, so I ordered a side of it ($4) to go with the avo smash ($16). The avo came with balsamic roasted tomatoes, mock feta and basil and was fantastic - especially in combo with the tofu, which reminds me a lot of the wonderful Smith and Daughters version (which we've made a bunch of times but never blogged!).

Cindy took on something sweet: French toast with strawberries, maple syrup and whipped cream ($15). The toast bits were coated in chia seeds, which was a bit of an odd choice and the toast itself was super-soft under the seedy layer. It wasn't Cindy's favourite style of French toast, but it got the job done.

We had two fantastic meals at Wombat. The food is great, with a good mix of sweet and savoury dishes to choose from and a whole heap of fancy drinks if you want them (we didn't try out the smoothie menu, but it was comprehensive).

The staff were super friendly and managed the busy space pretty efficiently. It's a must-visit for your next trip down to the Peninsula.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

We've had Savanna on our to-eat list since its Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine was recommended on Fitzroyalty more than four years ago, but we only just stopped in recently on the way to a weeknight gig at the Tote. It's been too long since we last sat down to a huge platter of injera!

There's a cursory salad, but the major attraction here is the ten veg*n wots and other vegetable dishes. One person can choose four of them with injera for $17.90, but bring companions you're willing to share with and the entire set is yours for just under $20 per person (e.g. $39.90 for our Ideal Feast for Two). In unfortunate news for some, the injera here include wheat flour, but there's rice on offer as an alternative.

We thoroughly enjoyed every stew - one or two pushed my spice limits and a lentil dish, rather than the more predictable potatoes, emerged as my favourite. The injera were tender and spongy, not as sour as we've eaten elsewhere; we were offered fresh ones whenever it looked like we might run out.

A bubbling little pot of shiro - made from ground chickpeas, spices and a slick of oil - was as dangerous as it was delicious. The staff gave us fair warning that it was high-temperature, and I still managed to burn my mouth terribly with it! Next time I'll remember that this deceptive dish needs time sitting on the injera before I greedily gobble it down.

Service was slow but friendly and informative at this family restaurant; we felt welcome to settle in a while and enjoy the experience.

Accessibility: There are a couple of steps on entry, and a couple more splitting two levels of seating inside. There's a reasonable corridor through the middle but the tables are quite crowded. We ordered at the table and paid at a high counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

Friday, March 09, 2018

We were catching up with a couple of old friends for dinner and decided it was finally time that we tried out the vegan options at Shop 225. Tucked away on Melville Rd, 225 is a traditional Italian pizzeria that has for some reason decided to provide a full vegan menu alongside its regular offerings. We sat out in the courtyard at the back and sampled widely from the menu.

We were somehow talked into ordering the vegan calzone ($20), stuffed with tomato sauce, mock ham, fake cheese and real basil. I was sceptical, but this was an absolute delight - dense and delicious. I'm coming around to Ben Wyatt's point of view.

We also ordered a cappricciosa ($19), topped with tomato sauce, fake cheese, mushroom, olives and mock ham. I loved this one - they use a variety of mock meats, so when you get 'ham' you get something different to the salami or pancetta. It's a nice touch.

These were both pretty successful as well - the toppings are generous without being overwhelming and there's a good mix of mock products and veggies to go around. Obviously the cheeses don't have quite the depth of flavours as the non-vegan alternatives, but they're surprisingly good and the rest of the toppings are diverse enough to keep things interesting.

We had a really great meal at Shop 225 - there's so many vegan dishes to try out and they promise good gluten free pizza bases and pasta as well. The staff were super friendly (even talking us into buying some of their magnificent vegan nutella) and the courtyard was gorgeous on a sunny evening. Is it the best vegan pizza on offer in Melbourne? Red Sparrow is good, but our consensus was that 225 is better. Without travelling to Sydney you're not going to find a better vegan pizza option - check it out.

Tuesday, March 06, 2018

This summer we managed to schedule a Small Axe Kitchen brunch in sunnier weather, and nabbed a spot outdoors at their shared table. These guys always have a couple of good sweet options on the menu and on past visits, I've always picked the fruitier, more sensible looking ones.

Not this time! I went all out with the miniature loaf of Sicilian orange cake ($19.50), served on a swirl of burnt honey mascarpone with a scoop of dark chocolate custard, cubes of blood orange jelly and a sprinkling of milk crumbs. I can't really convince you at all that this is breakfast, but it is a lot of fun to eat - the cake and custard make a splendid jaffa pairing, the mascarpone is firmer than it looks and lightly bitter, the milk crumbs add a salty pebbly texture and the jelly some bright sourness.

Michael's vegan zucchini fritters ($19.50) were less showy but (he reckons!) just as enjoyable - salty with a crisp crust, served with tahini mayo, artichoke heart, broad beans, peas, mint and lemon.

We noticed posters announcing that Small Axe is now open for dinner, too. Since then we've heard good reports from vegetarian friends who've tried it out. When we make it in ourselves, you'll be the first to know.

Accessibility: There's a small step on entry (and perhaps a flatter entry through the garden side). Tables are densely packed with a clear corridor through the middle. Tables outside have small backless stools, high benches in the front room have tall backless stools, and tables in the back room have ordinary backed chairs. We ordered at our table and paid at a low counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

We roam Sydney Rd regularly, and keenly observe which of its businesses are launching, re-configuring and closing up for good. The Friends of Couture premises stood dormant a while, but when they came renovations were too fast for us to speculate about what was to come - up popped a bright, inviting chocolate shop called Ratio!

Ratio is spacious, even allowing for the extensive glass-protected area where all the bean-to-bar business happens. Up front you can browse the chocolate blocks ready for taking away and gifting, a few steps further in there's a cabinet of little treats to enjoy on the spot, and there's also a printed menu for those who take a seat.

Michael thought he'd get the best span of the menu by ordering the brownie tasting plate ($9.50, pictured top). Each has a different cocoa source and ratio, and though he enjoyed all of them, he had his Goldilocks moment with the 70% Peru-sourced cocoa slice.

He also tried out the Ratio hot chocolate ($5) - his report is positive, though he admits that he had too much chocolate going on all round to really savour and seriously assess it.

I had my dessert in a single glass, choosing the peanut butter and chocolate milkshake ($8). I requested a vegan version made with milkadamia (+ $1), which might even be an improvement on the standard dairy-based version! Here the chocolate flavouring is real but light, leaving plenty of room for the macadamia and peanut flavours to shine through.

Of course we took home a couple of bars to try later. Both the milk and (vegan) dark varieties were very smooth and quite sweet, with the flavourings pressed decoratively into one side of the bar. The salted caramel forms crushed glassy shards (not a soft centre, like the truffles in store), and the macadamia makes small nutty bubbles with only a subtle lemon myrtle seasoning.

Ratio's arrival feels like serendipity to us, though it's the culmination of years of hard work from founder Debb Makin. I'm looking forward to further familiarising myself with its wares this year.

Accessibility: There is a small step on entry to a spacious interior. Furniture is a mixture of low tables and chairs with backs, plus higher tables with backless stools (see above). We ordered at our table and paid at a low counter. We didn't visit the toilets.